Cultivating Contentment

Cultivating Contentment

“Cultivating Contentment”

(1 Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19)

Series: Reality Check: Keeping it Real at FBC

Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD

First Baptist Church Henderson KY (12-28-08) (AM)

 

  • Take God’s Word and open to 1 Timothy, chapter 6.

 

We have been preaching through the book of 1 Timothy and by God’s providence we are studying a passage this morning that is very timely, given the typical challenges most of us face with the getting of more stuff during the Christmas season.  Paul writes to us this morning about contentment.

 

Now the original context concerns false teachers in Ephesus who “suppose that godliness is a means of (financial) gain” (v.5).  Paul was writing to Timothy warning him about false teachers of the faith who are consumed with the desire for money and stuff.  This matter then leads Paul to write the words of our text this morning about contentment.  Listen for that as I read the text.

 

  • Stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.

 

6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.

7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.

10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

 

17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.

18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share,

19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

 

  • Pray.

Introduction:

 

Last week an article by the Associated Press suggested that this Christmas holiday season was for retailers the “worst in 40 years.”  The article begins by saying that, because of the economy,  many people are reluctant to spend their money, but then the article goes on to note how the parking lots were packed with cars as shoppers came out in droves, seeking bargains and deals, and markdowns.  And so there is this sort of irony: the shopping season was reportedly the “worst in 40 years,” but people came out nonetheless to shop.  In fact, if this season has been the “worst in 40 years,” that figure may be more telling on our extravagant spending in previous years.

 

How does today’s Bible passage relate to this?  Well, there’s certainly nothing wrong with shopping and there’s certainly nothing wrong with having stuff.  But the reason this passage is so timely is because it addresses a concern that often lies at the core of our accumulating stuff and it is the matter of contentment.

 

Benjamin Franklin said, “Contentment makes a poor man rich and discontent makes a rich man poor.”

 

The Bible teaches us how to cultivate contentment.  First:

 

I.  Understand the Delight of Contentment (6-8)

 

We may best define contentment as, “the state of being completely satisfied.”  Don’t raise your hand, but if I asked, “How many of you would say you are completely satisfied,” could you raise your hand?  Completely satisfied?  It is this complete satisfaction that Paul himself learned:

 

Philippians 4:11-13,“I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased (live humbly), and I know how to abound (live in prosperity). Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  So he’s able to write about it:

 

6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.

7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

 

What did you bring into this world?  Nothing.  What will you take with you when you die?  Nothing.

 

No baby is born into the world clutching an I-Phone, an X-Box, or car keys.  The baby doesn’t even come with a diaper!  This was the truth about which Job spoke:

 

Job 1:21, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

 

8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

 

When you feed and clothe a baby, you have a contented baby, completely satisfied.  You see it snuggle there close to a blanket, burping from its food, for a moment just as happy and contented as can be.  It is remarkable really.  These little creatures are content with just the bare necessities of life.  We all know the song from the Jungle Book, don’t we?  Baloo the bear joyfully sang:

 

Look for the bare necessities

The simple bare necessities

Forget about your worries and your strife

I mean the bare necessities

Old Mother Nature’s recipes

That brings the bare necessities of life

 

What changes when a baby begins to grow up?  That baby is exposed to more stuff and it’s not that stuff is bad, it’s just that because of our sinful nature, we have great difficulty in managing our desires.  We do, don’t we?

 

We buy a new TV or a home entertainment center or a new computer.  And we say, “Now I’ve got everything I need!”  And before too long, the shine seems to fade and it’s aging and the guy on the commercial has something bigger, the newest, latest, and greatest thing and we must have it.  Someone described this unhealthy discontent and desire for the next best thing as “upgrade-itis.”  We’re always seeking an upgrade.  And it seems we just can’t rest until everything’s working just right and we are convinced that we have the latest, greatest piece of technological gadgetry.

 

I struggle with it, don’t you?  One of my weaknesses is books.  To me books are like tools.  Like a mechanic who needs one particular tool at one particular moment and may not use that tool again for a span of six months or so, I too have books like that, some I use every day and some I use only every six months or so.  That’s why I’m always out of shelf space in my study.  And I find myself saying, “Well, I don’t really need any more of these.  I haven’t even read these.  I’ll read these first.”  But then I’ll see a new book or someone will give me one and then I’ll quote from the invitational hymn, “Though millions have come there’s still room for one!”  It’s not that having books is bad.  But here’s the kicker: how difficult would it be for me to recover if God allowed my entire library to burn?  That’s when we’ll find out whether I had those books or whether those books possessed me.

 

II.  Understand the Danger of Covetousness (9-10)

 

Covetousness is what one commentator calls, “the mother of all mischief.”  We have defined contentment as, “the state of being completely satisfied.”  How then are we to define covetousness?  Let me suggest this definition: covetousness is “the uncontrolled desire to acquire,” the uncontrolled desire to acquire.

 

9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and

harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.

 

There seems to be a progression here.  Those who desire to be rich first fall into temptation.  Then they are ensnared.  And they fall into many foolish and harmful lusts which ultimately drown them, drowning them in destruction and perdition, or “ruin and destruction.”

 

I read last week of the island of Oenoe, a dry island that was once located near Athens.  The people of Oenoe sought to bring a river of water into their settlement, but when they opened the channel to bring in the water the water flowed in with such force that it flooded the island and drowned all of the people.  And that’s how it is for those who “desire to be rich.”  They go after the thing they want, drinking it in, not realizing that it will come in with such force that they will be drowned by it.  And here is why:

 

10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the

faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

 

Most of us Christians are so familiar with that verse that we quickly jump to point out what it does not say.  We are quick to note that it doesn’t say that “money is the root of all evil,” but rather the “love of money.”  But we must then be as quick to ask ourselves whether we love money.  Do you?  We know that Jesus said in Luke 12:15, “One’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses,” but only we and God knows the hidden places in our hearts.  Do you love money?

 

The Bible says here in verse 10 that the love of money is “a root of all kinds evil.”  Just as a single root can lead to so many branches on a tree, so the singular love of money leads to all kinds of branches of sin.  And how difficult it is to get rid of the root!

 

I remember once removing a holly bush from our front yard.  It had been planted there over 30 years ago by the original landscaper.  It had gotten big and ugly and so I hacked at it and removed it from the ground—or so I thought.  The roots of those things are so strong that before too long there appeared a new little holly plant growing in the same place!  And so it is with the love of money.  It is a root that is very difficult to remove.  Sheer energy and will power will not do it.  We must completely replace it with a new root, the root of contentment.   Otherwise, says Paul, we may find ourselves “straying from the faith in our greediness, and piercing ourselves through with many sorrows.”  This is the final end of the person who “desires to be rich.”

 

The old Puritan, John Trapp, writes about this man who desires riches. He says, “Three vultures he hath always feeding upon his heart: care in getting, fear in keeping, grief in spending and parting with what he hath; so that he is in hell beforehand.”

 

How can you know whether you are a “lover of money?”  One expositor (Alistair Begg) suggests a few ways we may know whether we are a lover of money. Write these down:

 

  • When thoughts of money consume my day. (portfolio, etc.)
  • When the financial success of others makes me jealous.
  • When I am tempted to define success in terms of what I have rather than what I am in Christ. (in what I possess rather than that I am Christ’s possession.  We are rich in Christ.  We must not settle for money.)
  • When my family is neglected in my pursuit of money.  (We discard schedules, miss meals, etc.)
  • When I close my eyes to the genuine needs of others. (Because I want it all myself)
  • When I live in the paralyzing fear of losing my money. (Some of us watched Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” recently.  Remember Scrooge wanting more bread until he learned it would cost him more money?  And just pennies!)
  • When I am prepared to borrow myself into bondage.
  • When God receives my leftovers rather than my firstfruits.

 

Hebrews 13:5, “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”

 

Understand the delight of contentment.  Understand the danger of covetousness.  Thirdly:

 

III.  Understand the Duty of Christians (17-19)

 

While Paul has in mind “those who are rich” in verses 17-19, I have taken the liberty to apply this point to all Christians for two reasons: 1) there is a sense in which we all are rich when compared to 1st century standards, and 2) what Paul writes here is really an expectation of all Christians as we’ll see when we read further.

 

17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.

 

Here again is a reminder that money and riches in and of themselves are not intrinsically evil.  God has given us “richly all things to enjoy.”  So we error when we think we will please God by giving up all of our stuff and taking a vow of poverty and living in a simple log cabin in the woods.  You can try that, but before too long another guy moves-into the log-cabin next to yours and he puts a new stain on the wood or builds a front porch on it and there you go coveting again!  It’s not a material problem, it’s a spiritual problem.  It’s not what’s on the outside, it’s what’s on the inside, how we feel and think in our hearts.

 

Paul says, “Don’t place your trust in uncertain riches, but trust in the living God.”  You can’t count on your riches, but you can count on God.  You can’t take riches with you.  Ultimately they do not bring final security. But your relationship with God is secure forever.

 

18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share,

 

One of the best ways to cultivate contentment is to give.  Many of you know that I serve on the Board of Trustees at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary where my good friend Danny Akin is president.  I was sharing with a friend recently that at our last Trustee meeting the Chair of Trustees was talking about the economy and challenging us nonetheless to be generous in our giving to the seminary.  He had mentioned that back in 1987 when the bottom fell out of our economy that he had lost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but then he said this, “The only investment I didn’t lose was money I had given to the seminary.”  I’m not sure I had the wisdom to think of it quite like that at first.  But it’s true, isn’t it?  Every dime we give to support a spiritual cause has lasting benefits as it is used to build-up the kingdom.  This is what Paul has in mind when he says:

 

19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. (or “life that is truly life” as one translation has it)

 

And this seems to be the very thing our Lord Jesus has in mind when He says:

 

Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; “but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

 

Giving to kingdom work is an investment that is secure.  It lasts forever.  It’s like our encouragement to give to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering.  Every penny you give to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering is a solid investment into the kingdom of heaven.  Lives will be won to Christ through the work of international missionaries through your giving.  It’s an eternal investment in things that really matter.

 

So don’t trust in uncertain riches, but trust in the living God.  In the words of Jeremiah:

 

Jeremiah 9:23-24, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the LORD.”

 

We already mentioned giving as a way to cultivate contentment.  Let me give you some more practical ways to cultivate contentment and “glory in the Lord.”  Let me suggest you write these down and calendar them:

 

  • Spend time every day with God (Bible reading calendars!) a few minutes (“trusting in the living God” means cultivating a living, growing relationship with Him.)
  • Worship God regularly…wise men gave their treasures to Christ…
  • During the day, hide somewhere for about 5 minutes, being quiet and still, reflecting on God and thanking God for Christ, “God has given us riches in Christ.  We must not settle for money.”
  • Take walks, enjoying the beauty of God’s creation
  • Read.
  • Unplug stuff.
  • Get involved in the lives of others, being missional—visit someone in nursing home, hospital
  • Go on a mission trip and live among people less materially blessed than you

 

“Let Him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord.”

 

  • Stand for prayer.

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